Upfront

Aug2007

Two’s Company

In her ongoing quest to make eyewear the ultimate accessory, Sheila
Vance, Sama Eyewear CEO and designer, is offering coordinated sets
of ophthalmic frames and sunglasses. “The optical industry has come a
long way in the past 20 years, but they need all the help they can get in
the area of multiple sales,” Vance says. “We can learn a lot from the
accessories business. Women think nothing of buying a handbag and
an accompanying coordinated wallet, an evening bag, a day bag, a casual
bag, a bag to complement a new wardrobe item. We can do that with
eyewear, too. A woman goes to a luncheon, removes a beautiful sunglass
and reaches for the same frame in an ophthalmic design to read the
menu. That shows we as an industry are paying attention to eyecare,”
she continues. “It make us important to the consumer and it makes eyewear
the most important of accessories, which it is.”
Vance has used this concept very successfully in her retail stores to
promote multiple sales. “Whenever we present the eyewear as a coordinated
set, people always buy both,” she notes. “It’s really up to us to
continually excite our customers and educate them on why one pair of
eyewear is not enough.”

Sama has designed coordinated sets for its Badgley Mischka, Loree
Rodin and Sama lines. Each ophthalmic frame and sunglass comes with
its own matching case.